Embodiments of the invention relate to golf ball marking and divot repair tool used by golfers on a putting green.
Golfers commonly use a ball marking device while on the putting green to mark the spot where their ball came to rest. These devices allow them to pick up and remove their ball from the putting surface. The principal reason for removing their ball is to prevent it from interfering with the putt of another player whose ball came to rest further away from the cup. The player furthest away from the cup putts first.
Currently, a wide range of plastic and metal coin-sized ball marking devices are used as ball markers. In fact, many golfers often use an actual coin as a ball marker. Current ball marking devices are commonly carried either loosely in the pocket, snapped to the top of a divot repair tool which is carried in the pocket, snapped to the top of a putter club grip handle, or take the form of a removable snap attached to the back of a golf glove.
However, these conventional ball marking devices have a number of common disadvantages. First of all, these ball marking devices have a three-dimensional physical presence when placed on the putting surface, even if the golfer takes extra care to firmly push the marker into the turf. Therefore, a ball putt from any direction can still roll into/over the ball marking device and have its path altered in some way. This type of interference defeats the principal reason for marking and removing the ball in the first place. Secondly, conventional ball marking devices are frequently and easily lost or misplaced. After a golfer walks onto the putting green and realizes that his/her marker was lost or misplaced, play must often be delayed while the golfer endures the inconvenience of walking back to his/her cart and digging through crowded golf bag pockets to find a replacement marker or coin. Finally, many golfers do not like to carry loose items in their pockets. The movement, weight, and/or presence of pocket items interferes with their play.
When a ball is hit high into the air and lands on the putting green, it commonly leaves an indentation called a divot. Golfers are encouraged to repair this divot by using a divot repair tool. Normally made of either plastic or metal of varying composition, thickness and strength, divot repair tools have a two-pronged fork and a short handle just wide enough and long enough to fit between thumb and forefinger. The fork prongs are inserted into the turf around the impacted area. The turf is then pried as best as possible back into its original flat surface shape, thereby eliminating the indentation. Divot repair tools are usually carried in the pocket or retrieved from the golf cart or a golf bag pocket when needed.
Current divot repair tools present two main disadvantages. First of all, since they are relatively small in size, they are easily and often lost or misplaced, thereby presenting delays in play or inconveniences to the golfer who has discovered that the tool had been lost or misplaced and must search for another in his/her bag. Secondly, many golfers do not like to carry items in their pockets. Metal divot repair tools can be heavy and therefore distracting and uncomfortable in the pocket. In fact, if unfortunately positioned, these fork prongs can cause injury to the user when forcefully applied against the leg of the user or poke holes in the user""s pockets.
Some divot repair tools also have a coin-sized ball marker attached via snap or magnet to the flat xe2x80x9chandlexe2x80x9d area where the thumb and forefinger are placed. This all-in-one tool allows golfers to only carry one tool for their putting green ball mark needs. However, since the design and functionality of the ball marker and divot repair components remain unchanged from the separate devices already discussed, this combination device shares the same list of disadvantages.
Many ball markers and divot repair tools are designed in such a way as to appeal to a golfer""s sense of fashion or self expression. These devices offer unique, often artistic designs or shapes or are made of special materials such as gold or silver plated metal. The golfer must often pay a premium for these fashionably designed ball markers and divot tools. Yet the devices remain for the most part in their pocket or in a pocket in their golf bag, thus defeating the purpose of paying a premium to make a fashion statement.
It is also extremely common for corporations and golf courses to place their name and/or logo on golf ball markers or divot repair tools. However, the lack of any appreciable amount of surface area make for placement of advertisement logos ineffective. Also, given the fact that both of these devices are most often carried in the pocket, the corporate name and logo is not visible to other players, except for perhaps a brief glimpse when the device is taken out and used. This lack of visibility reduces the promotional value of these devices.
It should be noted that there already exists a ball marking device that dispenses a circle of powder to mark the spot where the ball came to rest. It is a small cylindrical device about the size of a CHAPSTICK(copyright) tube. A ball bearing sticks partially out of one slightly tapered first end. The ball bearing is kept in place by a removable spring which spans the entire length inside the cylinder. Powder is inserted into the hollow cylinder via a screw cap located at a second end opposite the first end. The spring loaded ball bearing forms a seal on the tapered end preventing the powder from escaping. When the spring loaded ball end of the device is pressed against the putting surface, the ball is pushed into the cylinder and the powder then flows out through the opening. When lifted from the putting surface, the spring pushes the ball back into the tapered end thus reforming the seal. However, the conventional powder dispensing device suffers from a number of disadvantages:
a. It is small and designed to be carried in the golfer""s pocket, in a golf bag pocket, or in a golf cart compartment. Therefore, it is easily lost or misplaced, thus causing delays in play and inconveniences associated with digging through golf bag pockets looking for it.
b. Many golfers do not like to keep items in their pocket. For these golfers, the only option would be to place this device in a golf bag pocket or in a golf cart compartment. It is therefore easy for these golfers to forget to grab this device before they walk onto the putting green after grabbing their putter. In this instance, it would be inconvenient and cause delays for them to return to the cart or golf bag to retrieve the device if it was needed.
c. Even if the device is carried in a golfer""s pocket, powder can easily be accidentally dispensed inside the pocket, thereby causing a mess.
d. Once the device is being firmly pressed against the turf, there is nothing to prevent powder from continuing to flow out of the device. The only way to stop the flow of powder is to lift the device off the turf. If the golfer is not careful, he/she can consistently dispense more powder than was needed. This would result in the need to refill the device more often than necessary, which would be especially inconvenient if the device ran out of powder in the middle of a round of golf and the golfer did not have replacement powder available.
e. The small ball bearing can get dirty or wet, resulting in powder getting clogged on the tapered end and preventing it from operating properly. If this happens, then the ball, spring and all the remaining powder must be removed from the screw cap end in order to remove the ball, clean it and get it working again. This is time consuming and could cause a delay in play if the golfer needed to perform this cleaning in the middle of a golf match. Also, without a proper receptacle or storage device in which to place the powder that was removed, this powder would be discarded since it would be too difficult to hold it, keep it dry, and refill the cylinder with it. If the golfer did not bring extra powder and a funnel to replace the removed and discarded powder, then the device would be rendered useless for the rest of that round of golf.
f. Much like traditional coin-sized ball markers, this device also offers limited promotional value to corporations and golf courses that want to prominently display their names and logos. It is small and easily lost or misplaced, thus limiting the duration of the promotional benefit. It is also mostly kept in the golfer""s pocket or in a golf bag pocket, thus dramatically limiting the visibility of the corporation""s or golf course""s name and logo.